Collapsible container



Sept. 23, 1958 G. c. BAUER COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Au 22, 1956 INVENTOR. GER/4L0 6. Baum:

H TT'OR/VEYS Sept. 23, 1958 Filed Aug. 22, 1956 G. C. BAUER COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l3 INVENTOR. 65%40 C 5/705? H TTORNEYS' .tainer will not escape.

United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Gerald C. 1 Bauer, Three Rivers, Mich., assignor to Cellu- +Kote,-Inc., Sch0olcraft,"Mich.,. a corporation of Michivgan Application Augustlz, 1956, Serial No. 605,655 1 Claim. :1 (Cl. 229-58 his invention relatfis 1.0 a single-use, collapsible container and to the process for .making same, made from fibrous material and, particularly, to-a type thereof characterized by simplicity ,and .economy in its original .con-

.struction, by ease and economy in use, by its capacity to hold liquids of relatively low viscosity, and by its vadaptability to being madeinrelatively large sizes.

container at low cost and yetrone whose seams are sufiiciently tightly sealed that the material within .the con- While the problem .is present broadly in the packaging, transportation and distribution ofmanymaterials whichhave a low viscosity, such as a -viscosity approaching that of water,. a typical instanceof the problem occurs in the packaging and distribution of roofing asphalt, which is packaged. at sufficiently elevated temperature thatit isof low viscosity at the time of packaging and is sufiiciently responsive to temperature that, under some conditions of storage or transportation,

to attack or penetration ';by the.material to be received into the container, andit is accordingly desirable that the container be of ,such character that it can be formed from a single sheet of original material, whereby to facilitate the coating thereof onthe sidewhich will ultimately become the inside of the container,-and, further, it is desirable that the container be formed in such a manner thatsaid coating be 'free from creases, cuts or-perforations at such points as might permit leakage of the material from within the container.

Further, with particular attention to the handling of roofing asphalt, it is desirable thatthe inside of the container be coated with a material which will not adhere to the asphalt.

Still further, the use of such a coating often prevents the successful application of adhesives. Hence, the material cannot be overlaid with an adhesive to form a seam. Thus, the use of suchadhesion-preventing coating creates the further problem of using other fastening means or using adhesives only on the uncoated surface.

There are many containers now available to the industry which will successfullyreceive and hold against leakage the various substances which it is desired to handle. However, many of these containers, insofar as lam acquainted with them, have expensive and complicated assembly requirements and are,.therefore, tooexpensive for full acceptance. For example, certain of these containers are formed in a tubular shape and require extensive stitching with-metal staples or wire-at the seams. Such stitching is expensive and also provides perforations through which the material will sometimes leak. Other types of containers are based on tubes, which have rolled metal edges, and these must either be shipped in their substantially finished form, with :consequentloss of shipping space, or they must be assemble-d at the point of use, with consequent inconvenience and expense to the user.

Accordingly, it'is-a major object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive container, and method for making same, capableof being made fromcoated or uncoated, flexible, fibrous, cellulosic material, asheavy paper or flexible boardstock, which can be made and shipped inexpensively and yet whichwill be capable of containing, without leakage,-materials of relatively low viscosity.

A further object of theinvention is to provideadevice, as aforesaid, of such construction that, when used with coated material, thecoating will not be injured or perforated at any point capable of causing leakage.

Afurther object of the invention is-to provide a device, as aforesaid, which will be capable of being made in a variety of different sizes, without change in proportions or materials, and without'change in'the procedural steps required.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a device, as aforesaid, which ,canbe made from many different styles and thicknesses of -fibrous material, such as flexible board stock or paperstock, andwhich will, therefore, be capable of highly diversified applications.

A further objectofthe invention is to provide a device,

as aforesaid, whichcan beopened quickly and easily at the point of use for filling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device, as aforesaid, which, when. opened at the pointof use, will be ready for immediate filling and will not require other, preliminary processing or making ready.

A further object of the'invention is to provide a device, as aforesaid, which willbe capable of holding relatively sticky, or adhesive, materials, such as roofing asphalt, and which will release such materials completely when the container is being emptied.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device, as aforesaid, which is made from a cellulosic, fibrous, sheet material coated on one side with a material of such character that adhesives will not adhere thereto.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with devicesof this general type upon a reading of the following specification and an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an inverted, perspective view of a container characterizing the invention and shown in the open position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of said container in an upright, partially collapsed position.

Figure 3 is an edge view of said container, shown in the fully collapsed position.

Figure 4 is a broken,sectional view taken along theline IVIV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a broken, top view of said container in an open, partially assembled condition.

Figure 6 is a broken, bottom view of said container in an open, partially assembled condition.

Figure 7 is a broken, fragmentary view of the left flap on the lower end of said container in a partially assembled condition.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII- R/lll of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line .IX-JX of Figure 6. i

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of Figure 9.

For the purpose of convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, and derivatives thereof,.will have reference to the container in its upright position, as appearing in Figures 2 and 3. The terms left, right," and derivatives thereof, will have reference to the left and right sides, respectively, of the container, as appearing in Figures 5 and 6, the left side being that one in which the seam is located. The terms inner, outer, and derivatives thereof, will have reference to the geometric center of said container and parts associated therewith.

General description A sheet of foldable, cellulosic, fibrous sheet material, such as paper or flexible board stock, which may be coated or uncoated according to the specific use intended for the finished container, is turned back upon itself to form a tube, with the coating, if any, inside, and the seam is sealed on the outside with a suitable tape. Opposite sides of one end are then folded toward each other to form a fiat, substantially planar surface, constituting the bottom of the container, and the ends of said bottom surface are thereby formed into points. A further piece of tape is affixed to the seam across said bottom surface to close it firmly. The end points are then sharply creased and folded inwardly upon themselves, and the folded ends then folded against the bottom and firmly stapled or stitched thereto. The folding of the ends prevents leakage from the portions not fully covered by the tape across the bottom of the container, and the positioning of the staples at a point having a flat, surface-to-surface contact between all parts through which the staples extend effectively prevents any leakage of material from within the container.

Detailed construction As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 5, the container is fabricated from relatively stiff and flexible, but foldable, sheet material of a fibrous, cellulosic nature, such as paper board, which may be impregnated with a protective material resistant to the material to be handled within the finished container, or which may be coated on one side thereof with said protective material. Said container (Figure 2) has a front wall 11, a rear wall 12, a left side wall 13, a right side wall 14, and a bottom Wall 15. The novelty in the container 10 is believed to reside in the method and form of its fabrication and assembly, with particular emphasis upon the bottom wall thereof. Thus, the structure of the container will, at many points, be described in terms of its fabrication and assembly, rather than necssarily in strictly structural terms.

In fabricating the container 10, a flat, substantially rectangular sheet of material is first shaped into a tube having a substantially rectangular cross-section, as indicated in Figure 5, by bringing a pair of opposite parallel edges 16 and 17 into abutting relationship. The said abutting edges, which may be overlapped, if desired, provide a seam 19, which is preferably disposed midway between the lateral edges of one side wall, here the left side wall 13. An elongated strip or tape 18 having adhesive on one side thereof, said tape and adhesive being resistant to the material to be handled by the finished container and being preferably also water-resistant, is placed along and over the seam 19 to hold said edges 16 and 17 together.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the lower end portions 21 and 22 of the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12,

respectively, are folded over toward each other, preferably in abutting relationship, to form the bottom wall of the container 10. However, in order to effect this folding of the lower end portions 21 and 22, the corresponding, lower end portions 23 and 24 of the left wall 13 and the right wall 14, respectively, are also folded to form the laterally extending, triangular shaped flaps 25 and'26. As a result of this folding, the bottom wall 15 is formed by the end portions 21 and 22, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. The seam 28, which is formed in the bottom wall 15 by the adjacent edges of the portions 21 and 22, extends from the tip of the left flap 25 to the tip of the right flap 26. As shown in Figure 7, the lower end corners 30 and 31 of the tape 18 are folded in, forming the left flap 25, and thereby appear on the bottom surface 32 of the flap 25. Thus, when the bottom tape 33, which may be of the same type and material as the side tape 18, is placed along and over the bottom seam 28, the leftward end thereof will overlap the lower corners 30 and 31 of said tape 18 (Figures 9 and 10).

With the container 10 in this condition, which is substantially as shown in Figures 6, 8 and 9, it will be apparent that said container is at this point in its assembly sealed against leakage, except for the end portions of the bottom seam 28, which extend beyond the outer ends of the bottom tape 33, as appearing in Figure 6. In order to overcome and prevent leakage at these points, the tip portions of the flaps 25 and 26 are first folded downwardly and inwardly along parallel fold lines, such as that indicated at 34 on the right flap 26 (Figure 6), until they both assume the position of the left flap 25 in Figure 6. This folding is accomplished by first applying a sharp crease, as with a creasing device in which a stiff bar forces the sheet material between a pair of parallel, closely spaced bars, along each of the lines where the bending is desired, and then bending the material in the desired direction along the respective creases. The flaps 25 and 26 are then folded along the fold lines 36 and 37, respectively, which lines are adjacent to the side walls 13 and 14, until the flaps assume the positions shown in Figures 1 and 4. Thus, leakage through the tip ends of the flaps 25 and 26 is prevented by two folds in each flap, and the folded flaps also increase the rigidity of the bottom of the container.

The flaps 25 and 26 are then secured to the bottom wall 15 by means of suitable stitching, such as with staples 38, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The container 10, as thus assembled, can now be filled with a liquid,

as desired, including a liquid of relatively low viscosity, and, providing the inner surface of the material from which said container is fabricated is properly coated or otherwise treated for withstanding attack by such liquid, such container will serve to hold such liquid in a leakproof manner.

In one particular adaptation, the container 10 has been designed to hold roofing asphalt. In order to prevent adhesion between the asphalt and the inside surfaces of said container, the sheet material from which said container was fabricated Was coated on one side with a substance to which asphalt will not adhere. This coating comprised a continuous film, consisting essentially of a filler (such as starch, kaolin or titanium) and a binder, in which said filler is interspersed. The binder binds said filler to the sheet material and consists essentially of hydroxy ethyl cellulose, which is soluble in aqueous sodium hydroxide, but insoluble in water. Said binder is in the ratio of from 6 to 10 parts by weight to parts by weight of the filler.

Where an adhesive-repelling coating of this type is used, an overlapped or glued joint at the seams 19 and 28 becomes impossible. Thus, the structure of the container 10, including the abutted seams, is particularly well suited to use with coated sheet materials of this type.

It will be further observed that no cuts or other openings are made in the walls of the container 10 for the purpose of fabrication or assembly. Where the staples 38 are secured to the bottom wall, it will be observed that there are at least eight laminations through which said staples must pass. Thus, liquid within said container must pass the edges of eight sheets in order to escape along said staples, preventing any reasonable possibility of leakage at these points.

One of the principal features of this invention resides in the fact that the container can be collapsed into a shape, as shown in Figure 3, for easy packaging and transporting, without any injury whatsoever to its containing qualities. Such collapse may be facilitated by providing hinge or fold creases in the side walls of the container, as indicated in Figure 1. For example, in such case, the right side wall 14 has a hinge line 40 which is spaced from the bottom wall a distance substantially equal to the width thereof and is disposed parallel therewith. The front wall 11 is provided with a center hinge line 41, which extends from its upper edge to a point spaced from the lower edge thereof equal to approximately one-half the width of said bottom wall 15'. A hinge line 42 extends from the lower end of the hinge line 41 to join the adjacent end of the hinge line 40 on the right side wall 14, A pair of diagonal hinge lines 43 and 44 extend from the lower end of the center hinge line 41 to the lower corners, respectively, of the front wall 11. The rear wall 12 is provided with hinge lines, which are substantially mirror images of those described with respect to the front wall 11. Thus, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the container 10 can be folded easily and quickly, as in a few seconds, along the hinge lines 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 (Figure 1) from the open or extended position to the collapsed position shown in Figure 3.

The edges of the sheet material, from which the container 10 is fabricated, and which form the seams 19 and 28, have been disclosed as being in abutting relationship. However, it will be recognized that an overlapped relationship may be provided, if desired or required, by making minor modifications in the structure at said seams 18 and 28, without departing from the scope of this invention.

Thus, although a particular, preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail hereinabove for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof, which lie within the scope of such disclosure, are fully contemplated unless specifically stated to the contrary in the appended claim.

I claim:

An elongated container formed of a flexible material and consisting of a sheet folded to form four side walls so that thecontainer when open is substantially rectangular in cross-section, the opposing edges of said sheet being brought into meeting contact to form a side seam 6 extending longitudinally of the container through the centerline of one side wall thereof; a sealing strip secured to said sheet and overlapping said edges to seal said side seam substantially from one longitudinal end thereof to the other, the lower portions of two oppositely disposed side walls on either side of said one side wall being folded to form a bottom for said container so that the lower edges of said two side walls are substantially in meeting contact to form a bottom scam, the lower ends of the other two oppositely disposed side walls, including said one side wall, being folded to form substantially triangular end fiaps, each end flap having meeting edges defining'an extension of said bottom seam; a second sealing strip having a surface secured by adhesive to said sheet and overlapping the edges defining said bottom seam and extensions thereof to seal said bottom seam and extensions from one end thereof to the other, each of said triangular flaps having its outer end including a portion of said second sealing strip folded inwardly upon itself into parallelism with the remainder of the flap and the remainder of said flap being folded inwardly against said bottom of said container; and a plurality of stitching elements extending through the outer end and the remainder of each of the flaps and through the bottom of the container for holding said flaps against said bottom, said second strip being penetrated at least twice by each stitching element in a region of said surface containing said adhesive, whereby leakage at the points of penetration by said stitching elements is prevented and wherein the sealing effect of the second sealing strip is aided by said elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,176,996 Leonard et al. Oct. 24, 1939 2,189,174 Hohl Feb. 6, 1940 2,353,605 Waters July 11, 1944- 2,365,651 Shively Dec. 19, 1944 2,396,565 Gardner Mar. 12, 1946 2,643,048 Wilson June 23, 1953 2,656,093 Smithe Oct. 20, 1953 2,771,010 Piazze Nov. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 306,089 Germany June 17, 1918 444,928 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1936 88,216 Sweden Dec. 29, 1936 

